Thursday, December 15, 2005
The Exciting Thing about Christmas To Me
It's a little thing called "Incarnation"!
I know it sounds like I'm trying to impress you with my intellectualism, but believe me, I have none! The word, "incarnation" is just a theological term that explains what is to me, the most amazing part of the Christmas Story! It means literally, "Into Flesh".
It starts with two Scriptures from the Old Testament that foretold of the coming of Jesus, the Christ.
Isaiah 7:14 reads, "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign, The Virgin will be with child and will give you a son...." Ok. You gotta believe in the virgin birth if you are a Bible believer. It's important for this reason: The seed that caused Mary to be with child was NOT the seed of a man....it was a Holy Ghost invasion of her body by God Almighty Himself! "The angel answered her (Mary) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God," Luke 1:35. It was not the seed of a man but the seed was from God. "And that's important because......"you may ask? Because that makes that child which was born the Son of God. It was literally GOD IN THE FLESH. If the seed was of man, IF Mary wasn't a virgin, then the child would not have been God, but HE WAS!
That was important because God had to clothe Himself in flesh in order to pay for our sins. He had to be 100% man AND 100% God. The wages of sin is DEATH. God wanted to pay our sin penalty for us but had one problem; God cannot die. So, He clothed Himself in flesh that He might become obedient to the death on the cross. That is how He paid for our sins. He became "Immanuel", God with us (Matt.1:23).
Think about it! Incarnation, means "Into Flesh". God came into flesh so that He could die a death on the cross for our sins. The sacrifices of the Old Testament could do nothing more than cover sin. But when Jesus Christ came walking up on the banks of the Jordan River, John the Baptist cried out, "Behold, the Lamb of God that TAKES AWAY OUR SINS". He could only do that because of the INCARNATION. If God had not become man in flesh, while still God, then our sins could never have been taken away!
When you think about the Christmas story this year, when you see baby Jesus in the drama scenes, remember that the little baby was GOD WITH US (Immanuel), God in the Flesh! God became a man that He might die for our sins! Thank you Jesus. Thank you for Coming!
Oh, that other Old Testament verse?
"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace...."(Isa. 9:6)
You see, that little baby Jesus was GOD IN THE FLESH; born of a virgin; Immanuel, GOD WITH US that He might take away our sins!
Hallelujah!
For the Master,
Buster Wilson
I know it sounds like I'm trying to impress you with my intellectualism, but believe me, I have none! The word, "incarnation" is just a theological term that explains what is to me, the most amazing part of the Christmas Story! It means literally, "Into Flesh".
It starts with two Scriptures from the Old Testament that foretold of the coming of Jesus, the Christ.
Isaiah 7:14 reads, "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign, The Virgin will be with child and will give you a son...." Ok. You gotta believe in the virgin birth if you are a Bible believer. It's important for this reason: The seed that caused Mary to be with child was NOT the seed of a man....it was a Holy Ghost invasion of her body by God Almighty Himself! "The angel answered her (Mary) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God," Luke 1:35. It was not the seed of a man but the seed was from God. "And that's important because......"you may ask? Because that makes that child which was born the Son of God. It was literally GOD IN THE FLESH. If the seed was of man, IF Mary wasn't a virgin, then the child would not have been God, but HE WAS!
That was important because God had to clothe Himself in flesh in order to pay for our sins. He had to be 100% man AND 100% God. The wages of sin is DEATH. God wanted to pay our sin penalty for us but had one problem; God cannot die. So, He clothed Himself in flesh that He might become obedient to the death on the cross. That is how He paid for our sins. He became "Immanuel", God with us (Matt.1:23).
Think about it! Incarnation, means "Into Flesh". God came into flesh so that He could die a death on the cross for our sins. The sacrifices of the Old Testament could do nothing more than cover sin. But when Jesus Christ came walking up on the banks of the Jordan River, John the Baptist cried out, "Behold, the Lamb of God that TAKES AWAY OUR SINS". He could only do that because of the INCARNATION. If God had not become man in flesh, while still God, then our sins could never have been taken away!
When you think about the Christmas story this year, when you see baby Jesus in the drama scenes, remember that the little baby was GOD WITH US (Immanuel), God in the Flesh! God became a man that He might die for our sins! Thank you Jesus. Thank you for Coming!
Oh, that other Old Testament verse?
"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace...."(Isa. 9:6)
You see, that little baby Jesus was GOD IN THE FLESH; born of a virgin; Immanuel, GOD WITH US that He might take away our sins!
Hallelujah!
For the Master,
Buster Wilson
